


Flowers

by FractalBunny



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming Out, Gen, Implied Past Shiro/Keith, M/M, Trans Keith (Voltron), Trans Pidge | Katie Holt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 05:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8653051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FractalBunny/pseuds/FractalBunny
Summary: Unlikely allies are found in unlikely places.





	

**Author's Note:**

> NaNoWriMo was tearing me a new asshole so I'm writing this to remove myself from it for the day. Enjoy!

"Shiro, I need to tell you something." Trembling hands. Watery eyes. "It's serious."

"Yeah?" He was beautiful. His hair was all black then, not tainted with the stresses of battle. His skin was smooth and soft, no wrinkles or scars.

"Let me just...let me show you." Keith felt his hands shake harder as he grabbed the bottom of his shirt. "I didn't want to tell you, because...I thought you'd hate me..."

"Keith, what is it?" Shiro was scared now, too, grabbing Keith's shoulders and staring at his half-lidded purple eyes. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

"Well, I..." Keith took Shiro's hands off of his shoulders. He gripped his shirt once more and pulled it off to reveal a tight, black binder, perfectly fitted to his slight frame, crushing down on his chest. "Do you understand?"

"Oh, Keith..." Shiro's hands glossed down the scratchy fabric. "I had no idea."

"Do you still love me?" Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Of course." Shiro smiled and kissed his cheek. "I've got to get ready for Kerberos. I'll talk to you when we all get back, okay?"

"Okay." Keith wrapped his arms around Shiro's waist and pressed his face into his chest. "Be safe. I heard it's cold out there." Shiro laughed.

"Don't get into trouble."

* * *

"Keith, can I talk to you for a minute?" Iverson grabbed Keith's shoulder from behind.

"Could it be after dinner? I haven't eaten all day." Keith growled. He had seen it on the news the day before - every explorer to Kerberos was missing and more likely than not dead. His day had been spent in his room, sobbing out every tear he could spare for Shiro.

"No, it needs to happen now." Iverson moved his hand down to Keith's upper arm and started dragging him towards his office. Keith tried to wrench away his arm to no avail. A tall brunette leaning on the wall looked Keith in the eyes and smirked. Keith couldn't recall the boy's name for the life of him.

Iverson practically threw him into the office and shut the door. Keith rounded on him, snarling like a cornered animal, eyes narrowed in defiance of authority. The senior officer sat at his desk calmly and gestured at the chair across from him. Keith sat down, gripping the armrests so he wouldn't reach across the desk and wrap his hands around Iverson's neck.

"We have reason to believe you lied on your entrance forms." Iverson sighed. " _Miss_ Kogane."

"I'm not...I'm not a girl!" Keith cried. Iverson opened the file in front of him, reading over the writing. Keith's portrait shot was in the upper left corner of the paper. He wasn't as skinny then.

"It seems you were able to get out of every physical until the one this year. What a shame. You're our top fighter pilot, Keziah." Keith stood up quickly enough that his chair moved backwards.

"Don't call me Keziah. It's _not_ my name." Keith growled, eyes burning, fueled with outrage. "I didn't get out of the physicals my first three years. They made me strip fucking naked this time. _You_ changed the protocol."

"Well, when Shirogane notified us of your relationship, we had to question it." Iverson sighed. "Sit down." Keith snapped.

"No!" He shouted, slamming his hands down on the desk. His fingers curled, and his nails dug down into the waxy coating of the wood. "I'm not a girl! I didn't fucking lie on my entrance form!"

"Keziah, do you have a penis?" Iverson's question was simple. Keith felt a tear run out of his right eye. He sat back down silently. "That question is meant to ask for sex. I apologize if that confused you, but that doesn't change the fact that you put incorrect information on your form."

"How do you know that name?" Keith asked. "I put Keith on the forms. Every single one."

"We have our ways." Iverson crossed his arms. "I'm surprised. Even your mother went along with all of it...well, until..." He looked away. "My condolences."

"So, what are you going to do?" Keith wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I'm afraid we'll have to expel you from the program. Lying on an official government form won't be tolerated. I'm sorry... _Keith_." Iverson's voice was laced with vitriol. Keith finally burst into tears, using his few remaining tears to moisten Iverson's desk. Shiro would have saved him, he would have burst through the door and begged the Garrison to keep him in the pilot program, but Shiro wasn't there anymore.

* * *

"Shiro?" He whispered, pulling the bandana off of his mouth. Shiro looked like he had aged twenty years in the span of one - his hair was grayed, the corners of his mouth and eyes were framed with fine lines, his nose was torn down the center with a long-healed pink slash. Keith slashed the leather band holding him and pulled his half-conscious form up, securing one of Shiro's arms around his shoulders. When he turned around, he saw three unfamiliar faces.

"Nope! No, you, no no no no, no you don't, _I'm_ saving Shiro." The imposing newcomer shoved himself under Shiro's other arm. Keith would have killed him if Shiro hadn't been as heavy as he was.

"Who are you?" Keith asked, pursing his lips.

"Who am I? Uh, the name's  _Lance_." Lance tilted his head, his jaw held slightly open, his eyebrows raised. He blinked a few times. "We were in the same class at the Garrison?" Keith felt his chest tighten at the mention of the damned place.

"Really? Are you a...engineer?" Keith asked about the first class he used to have in his day - basic engineering. Lance looked displeased.

"No, I'm a pilot. We were like rivals, you know? _Lance and Keith, neck and neck_..." Keith suddenly remembered; the brunette from the hallway, an elite smirk on his lips, the day after Keith was told that the love of his life was probably dead, never to be seen again.  _That_ Lance. Keith tightened his grip on Shiro's wrist and narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, wait, I remember you. You're a cargo pilot." Keith raised his chin in an attempt to show dominance over Lance. It didn't work out.

"Well, not anymore. I'm fighter class now, thanks to you washing out." Lance looked serious, so Keith resigned.

"Well, congratulations."

* * *

"Keith, I need to talk to you about something." Pidge looked upset. Keith gestured for her to come in. The door to his bedroom shut behind her automatically, and she sat next to him on the bed. Her eyes were rimmed with red; she had been crying. "So, you know how I told everyone I'm a girl?"

"Yeah." Keith had never known what to do with crying people.

"I'm not sure anymore, and Shiro said you would know more about this than he did under his breath, but..." Pidge started to cry, her shoulders shaking with tiny sobs. "I don't know what he meant but I don't know what to do." Keith awkwardly put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

"You can't tell anyone about this, but...well, I..." Keith sighed. "I'm trans. I was born a girl, like you." Pidge looked up at him, her eyes wide and watery.

"Really?" She asked.

"Here, I'll...I'll show you." Keith pulled his shirt off again, like he had for Shiro. "This is my binder. It keeps my chest flat so I look more masculine, but a lot of this comes from working out. They were b-cups to start with, too." He looked at the floor. "Lance always makes fun of me for not being able to get a six pack like his. Little does he know it's the fuckin' estrogen."

"How is your voice so deep?" Pidge asked.

"It's not  _that_ deep." Keith was secretly overjoyed that she thought so. "I took testosterone, for a while. The effects on voice are permanent. The issue is...there's no testosterone in space. I'm going to start having a more..." He sighed. " _Female_ body, soon enough."

"I'm sorry." Pidge sighed. "Maybe...maybe we could figure out a way to synthesize some."

"Yeah." Keith smiled. "But what's going on with you?"

"I don't know, I...I kind of  _like_ being Pidge. I've gotten used to being called a boy. Being Katie doesn't mean that much to me anymore." Pidge took Keith's hand in hers. "What does it feel like? Being trans, that is."

"I don't know." Keith bit his lip. "When I started going by Keith, and binding, and taking testosterone, it...it just felt  _better_ than being Keziah."

"Keziah?' Pidge asked.

"My birth name." Keith laughed. "It's pretty ridiculous, right?"

"No, it's fine." Pidge smiled. "I like Keith better, though. And...I think I like Pidge better, too."

"Okay." Keith leaned over to hug her. He had never been the hugging type, but for the first time since saying goodbye to Shiro, he needed one.

* * *

"Wow Keith, really letting yourself go, aren't you?" Lance asked, poking Keith's soft stomach. Keith scowled. Pidge's attempts to synthesize space testosterone were hardly successful, considering her lack of supplies and formal knowledge of testosterone.

"Fuck off, Lance." Keith growled, averting his eyes. "You look pretty shitty yourself."

"Really? What part of glowing skin," Lance pulled his shirt up halfway, "A  _glorious_ six pack, and looks like these are shitty?" He smirked, and Keith smiled back, putting a hand on Lance's shoulder.

"You're right, Lance. You're a true  _testament_ to masculinity." Keith's words burned in his own throat. The reality was that he was done with Lance's constant teasing. Nothing created dysphoria quite like constant comments about his body fat. "You win."

"Oh, come on Keith, what's gotten into you lately?" Lance poked the center of Keith's forehead. "You've been such a bitch."

"Just leave me alone!" Keith snapped, shoving Lance back and turning away. He took a deep breath and started walking towards the door.

"Keith!" Lance shouted after him. "Buddy, come on!" Keith's head whipped around.

"I'm  _not_ your buddy!" Keith yelled. He stormed out of the training deck. Lance's lips were shut thin. He looked down at the ground. The steel suddenly looked so much colder.

He rapped on Keith's door. No answer.

"Keith! Can't we talk about this?" He whined.

"Nothing to talk about." Keith replied.

"Let me in!" Lance leaned on the door. It suddenly opened, and he nearly fell on his face.

"Nice." Keith muttered. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry." Lance mumbled.

"What was that? Couldn't hear you." Keith grinned.

"Oh, come on!" Lance whined. "I'm sorry!"

"For?"

"For...always making fun of you. We need to be a team. Voltron and shit like that." Lance looked at the ceiling. "And I don't hate you, okay? I just...at the Garrison, you were always above me, and it pissed me off. You've always been the better pilot, but I take pride in being the better- _looking_ pilot." He grinned back at Keith, who looked more irritated than amused at that point.

"Lance..." Keith sighed, standing up and pressing the button to shut the door. "I'm about to tell you something, but you're not allowed to talk about it with  _anyone_ besides Shiro or Pidge, okay?"

"Okay?" Lance looked scared.

"You need to promise you aren't going to freak out." Keith narrowed his eyes. "I mean it."

"I promise." Lance said, holding out his pinky finger. Keith rolled his eyes and took it in his own. He pulled his shirt off, like he had only done twice before, and revealed his binder. Lance didn't seem to get it, his eyebrows knitting closer together, his mouth parting with confusion. "What...?"

"It's called a binder." Keith sighed. "It...it makes it look like I don't have boobs, Lance."

"Boobs?" Lance was dumbfounded. "How?"

"I...I was born..." Keith's eyes started to water. He thought he wouldn't cry the third time coming out. "I was born a girl."

"Oh...oh, Keith..." Lance's eyes started watering, too. "Don't cry. I'm so sorry. I...I didn't know."

"You couldn't have." Keith smiled despite the tears rolling down his cheeks. "It's okay." His whole body was shaking. Somehow, he had convinced himself that if he had ever come out to Lance, he would have berated him to no end. Lance suddenly hugged him, and that's when he let himself sob, feeling his tears dampening Lance's soft blue shirt.

"I'm sorry." Lance whispered.

"It's okay." Keith whispered back.

* * *

"Shiro!" Keith cried, breaking into a run to catch up to Shiro in the hall. Shiro stopped and turned to face him. Keith wrapped his arms around him and nearly knocked him to the ground with the force of his embrace. "Pidge finally did it! She synthesized testosterone with a plant we found on the last planet!" He held up his arm, with a band-aid just below his elbow.

"That's amazing!" Shiro said with a laugh, pulling Keith into a tighter hug.

"Shit, I have to tell Lance!" Keith pulled away from Shiro, eyes watering with complete joy rather than fear for once.

"Go ahead, I won't keep you." Shiro ruffled his hair. "I'm happy for you, Keith."

"Thanks." Keith smiled. He ran off from Shiro, feeling high off the promise of getting back to where he was in his hormone replacement.

When he got to Lance's door, he didn't bother to knock, and instead hit the switch to open the door. Inside was Lance, shirtless and understandably surprised. Keith stepped inside and closed the door behind him, sobering up from his high and taking a deep breath.

"Keith, is something wrong?" Lance asked.

"No, nothing." Keith couldn't help but smile. "Pidge synthesized testosterone."

"What?" Lance yelped. He covered his mouth with his hands. "You're kidding!"

"I know." Keith whispered. His eyes were still watering. "Well, she made enough for the next month. I'll be able to get back into shape, finally get those abs you always talk about."

"A month?" Lance asked. "What's it made of?"

"Some plant we found on the last planet. Pidge is trying to grow it but it's not doing well. She can't figure out how much water to give it." Keith smiled sadly. "But I have enough for now."

"We'll figure out how to grow it." Lance walked towards Keith slowly. "I used to grow flowers with my mom. Some tropical flowers can be really temperamental. You just have to love them enough." He took Keith's chin, locking their eyes together. "You're like one of those damn flowers, too."

"Thank you." Keith said, pretending Lance hadn't said that last line and pulling his face out of his grip. He pulled him into a light hug. "Will you go with me to look at the plants?"

"Of course." Lance whispered into his ear. Keith shuddered. He held back his tears and let go of Lance.

They walked into the makeshift laboratory Pidge had made in the kitchen. A single fluorescent light dangled over three pots, each with plants that resembled aloe vera. Lance shook his head back and forth slowly. He ran his finger down one of the leaves and leaned down to examine it closely.

"They look like succulents, almost." Lance smirked. "Did you plant them in the same soil you found them in?"

"Well, we uprooted them, and then we took some dirt from near the ship. It looked a little darker, I guess." Keith bit his lip. "Was that the wrong thing to do?"

"No, no, you wouldn't have known. You should have taken soil from nearer to them. Here, we can try putting them in sand. I remember Allura saying something about the next planet having a lot of great beaches. We'll get there in a day. For now, we need to let them dry out a little." Lance poked the soil in each pot. "Yeah. They should be good."

"You really know your stuff." Keith said, leaning down to Lance's level to examine the plant. "It's so...purple."

"Yeah. Most plants have chlorophyll. You know what that is, right?" Keith nodded. "Well, chlorophyll makes most plants blue or green. Some have this stuff called carotenoids, which make them orange and yellow, like carrots, which are really high in them. And these plants have anthocyanins, which make them red and purple." Lance kissed a leaf of the closest plant. "These guys must be full of them."

"Yeah." Keith wasn't looking at the plants anymore; he was looking at Lance with a feeling he'd never felt so strongly - awe.

* * *

"Okay, paladins, I'm giving you all tonight to get to know the locals. They have valuable information on the Galra camps on the other side of the planet." Allura said, crossing her arms. "They spend most of their time on the beach, so I expect you all to blend in."

"Oh, yeah!" Lance exclaimed. "It'll be just like home!"

"Me too." Hunk said with a smile. "Man, I miss Hawaii." He put his hand on Lance's shoulder. "I'll let you visit me if you let me visit Cuba."

"Not a problem." Lance said, smirking at his friend. He glanced at Allura. "Can we go now? I've gotta get on that beach."

"Yes, fine." She muttered. "I need to do some planning with Coran, so I'll join you all later."

Lance grabbed Keith's hand and started dragging him towards his room. Keith couldn't put up much of a fight against Lance, who was much taller and stronger than he was, so he went along with it. Lance threw him into his room and started digging through a drawer. Keith couldn't say anything; he wasn't entirely sure what was happening. A pair of swim trunks were thrown in his face.

"You ever been to the beach?" Lance asked.

"No?" Keith assumed he was supposed to put the trunks on, so he did, quickly slipping his jeans off and pulling them on.

"Well, we are going to enjoy it today." Lance looked Keith up and down. "Let me loosen the string a little. You have wider hips than I do." He suddenly realized his mistake, and his eyes widened with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, that was...insensitive."

"It's okay. It's only true." Keith shrugged. Lance tugged on the string, untying the knot. Keith couldn't help but blush - Lance's long, thin fingers were just inches from his manhood. When Lance finished retying the knot, Keith took a couple of steps back and twirled. "How do I look?"

"Awesome." Lance said. He changed into a different pair of swim trunks and led Keith out of the castle. The sights in front of them were beautiful - beaches coated in white sand, tall trees resembling palms, bright blue waves lapping at the shore. Keith's jaw dropped. Lance took his hand again and pulled him towards the water. "This looks just like the Atlantic." His voice crackled with nostalgia. "The fuckin' same."

"It's...amazing." Keith could barely even speak. Lance pulled him into the water, and they walked in until they were knee-deep. Small fish swam around their ankles, and Keith could've sworn he saw some sort of crab scuttling through the sand. A slightly larger wave moved closer, and he found himself clinging to Lance's arm, scared he might get knocked over.

"Don't be scared." Lance said, wrapping his arms around Keith. "It's just water."

"It's moving on its own." Keith muttered.

"That's because this planet has a moon to pull it back and forth like that." Lance said, burying his nose in Keith's hair. "And the wind helps, too."

"How does the moon move the water?" Keith asked, putting his face in Lance's chest. He couldn't help it - the water was freezing cold, and Lance still felt warm.

"Gravity." Lance replied, pulling away from Keith. "Come on, let's go out a little further. You can swim, right?" Keith nodded. "Thank god they required it at the Garrison. Pidge would be dead by now otherwise. She couldn't swim for the life of her." Lance snickered. "This water's really calm. It'll be easy to swim in."

"Wouldn't you rather go out there with Hunk? Someone who actually likes it?" Keith asked, crossing his arms.

"You don't like this?" Lance asked, his brow furrowing with a mix of sadness and disbelief.

"No, I do, I just..." Keith sighed. "He knows more about it, that's all."

"You'll learn." Lance took Keith's hand for the third time that day and pulled him deeper until the sand suddenly dropped off. Keith found himself treading water nearly one-hundred feet from the shore, which was something he had never expected from himself. "When we swim back, why don't we get some sand for your plants?"

"Yeah, shit, I totally forgot." Keith shook his head. "Thanks for reminding me."

"No prob." Lance had a glint in his eyes. "Stop treading."

"What?" Keith interjected. "What do you mean?"

"Just stop." Lance held up his hands to show he wasn't treading. "Just kick your legs a little. This water is salty enough that you don't need to try as hard."

"What does salt have to do with it?" Keith asked, raising an eyebrow. He slowed his arms, not quite to a stop, but enough that he felt more at ease.

"The salt keeps you from sinking. It makes the water more dense." Lance reached his hands up to grab Keith's face. "See? No hands." Keith stopped moving his hands and moved them to Lance's waist.

For the first time since the day Shiro left for Kerberos, Keith felt loved.

* * *

"Keith, come on." Lance said. He intertwined his fingers with Keith's and led him into the kitchen. "You'll like this."

"Fine." Keith muttered. His patience was worn thin - he had used up his last dose of testosterone that morning. Lance took him into the kitchen and gestured at the two remaining plants; one hadn't made it.

"Look at them, Keith." Lance pulled him closer. "They're flowering. That means they're happy." Keith lightly cradled one of the flowers. The plant had extended a small tendril to grow it, and it was small, soft, and pink, like a moss rose.

"How do you know so much?" Keith asked. "You know, about everything. The plants, the ocean..."

"I grew up in a big family. More people to talk to, more experiences to hear about." Lance closed his eyes and smiled. "My tía was the best, though. She's the one who told me about the ocean. And my mom taught me about plants." His eyes opened again, and he turned to look at Keith. "You know more about flying than I ever will, though."

"It's all I know." Keith mumbled. He let go of the flower and moved closer to Lance. "I'd rather know more about everything else."

"How about this..." Lance turned around so he could sit on the table. "You teach me how to be a better pilot, and I'll teach you everything I know about whatever you want." Keith moved so he was standing in front of Lance, a hand on either side of him, leaning forwards towards him.

"Fine." Keith smirked. "But you're a pretty shitty pilot, so no promises that you'll get better."

"Yeah? Well you're kind of a dumbass, so good luck learning anything." Lance shot back. Keith couldn't take it anymore. He leaned forwards and kissed him. Lance grabbed his face, the same way he had in the ocean, and Keith grasped at his waist. He pulled away after a few seconds, looking into Lance's sapphire blue eyes. They had a glint to them - Lance almost looked humored.

"Thank you." Keith said weakly. "For everything."

"Of course." Lance replied. "Come on, let's get some of these leaves to Pidge so you'll have a shot next week." Keith kissed him again; he couldn't help it. He peppered Lance's lips and cheeks with quick kisses. He moved his way down his jaw to his ear, and pressed his nose into Lance's soft hair.

"Thank you." He whispered again. "You're amazing."

"I know." Lance whispered back. They both laughed. Lance laced his fingers with Keith's again, and they started on their walk to Pidge's room. Keith turned his head up to look at Lance, who was still glowing with sleep. He couldn't help but smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Remember to follow me on tumblr @fractalphantom for crappy life updates and @bisexual-bluelion for my constant Voltron shitposting (mostly Klance)


End file.
